EU countries are on the cusp of agreeing to merge funds for farmers and poorer regions in the bloc’s next €2 trillion budget, a draft document seen by Euractiv shows.
The move would cement the most controversial part of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s budget overhaul included in the draft proposal running from 2028 to 2034.
The document, a negotiating position dated 20 November, covers key elements from the almost €900 billion of the budget reserved for regions, farmers and migration, to be discussed at the highest political level during a December meeting of leaders.
The text does not include the option to change von der Leyen’s structure, and four EU diplomats told Euractiv that, unless there’s a revolt at the next European Council set for 18 and 19 December, the structure is set in stone.
In October 2024, an internal slide deck from the Commission’s budget department leaked, showing a plan to merge over 530 EU-level programmes into a single cash pot allocated with national plans negotiated between Brussels and national authorities.
The move to merge the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the regional “cohesion” support, both anchored in the EU treaty and traditionally earmarking one third of the budget each, had until then been unthinkable.
Both before and after the Commission unveiled the plan in July, it has been vehemently opposed by regions and regional ministers, farmers and farm ministers, and MEPs, who all want independent funding programmes and more say over how the money is spent.
Parliament called off a revolt against the plan last week, after von der Leyen suggested patches to her new structure, including a “rural target” meant to reduce flexibility and reserve some €50 billion additional farmer support.
Despite opposition to MEP interference, EU countries tentatively included the rural target, and several ministers, including France’s Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad, called for further changes in the direction of the Commission.
(jp)